Bernard-Rene de Launay

Marquis Bernard-Rene Jourdan de Launay (8 April 1740-14 July 1789) was a French nobleman who was Governor of the Bastille from 1776 until his death in 1789.

Biography
Bernard-Rene Jourdan was the son of the Marquis of Launay and was appointed to an honorary position in the musketeers at the age of eight. He replaced the governor Jumilhac as governor of the Bastille prison in 1776 and was not only in charge of the prisoners but also the vast gunpowder storage under the castle.

Death
Launay was the Governor of the Bastille during the time of the outbreak of rioting. In July 1789, the rioting people of Paris stormed the armory and armed themselves with 15,000 muskets; they had no gunpowder to fire their guns. They resolved to storm the Bastille prison and take advantage of the gunpowder storages in the basement.

Launay eventually surrendered after one of his men was killed, and he and seven other French troops were captured by the revolutionaries. He was pulled into the crowd and was repeatedly beaten by the crowd. Launay asked for the crowd to just shoot him, and they happily obliged, shooting him in the chest. He was beheaded and his head put on a spike.